Gore Tries To Maintain Low Profile As Ardent Supporters Warn Justices

December 12, 2000|By Naftali Bendavid, Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Al Gore settled into a tense wait Monday for the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court case while his ardent supporters made clear the deep bitterness with which they would greet a ruling that went against their man.

Many cloaked their passion in lofty language, asserting respect for the court and extolling the need for reconciliation after the decision. But beneath this rhetoric, they left little doubt that they would meet an adverse decision with anger and resentment.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who campaigned actively for Gore, warned that the Supreme Court could risk losing its prestige if it sided with Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

"If this Supreme Court continues to wade into this thicket and they make substantive rulings on behalf of the petitioner, which is George Bush in this case, this court could go down in history--will go down in history--as the most interventionist court ever in deciding political matters, the most interventionist court in this regard since the Dred Scott decision," Harkin said.

He was making a highly emotional analogy: The Supreme Court's infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision declared that no black, free or slave, could be a U.S. citizen and that Congress could not prohibit slavery on U.S. territory.

Harkin made it clear he recognized the impact of his language. "I choose my words carefully," he said.

The fiery Iowa senator also warned of a loss of authority by the court if later counts of Florida votes show that Gore won the state.

"If this Supreme Court decides to stop those counts right now, and if the truth comes out next year that in fact Al Gore did win Florida and he did win the popular vote in the country, and he is not president of the United States, what is that going to do for the esteem and the respect of the Supreme Court of the United States?" Harkin said as stood outside the court.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, suggested that if the Supreme Court overruled the Florida Supreme Court, it would be acting on political motives and not legal principles, given its historic deference to state courts.

"I see no reason for the justices to change a tradition of this court," Jackson-Lee said, adding that if that happened, "then I might make a determination that political interference occurred."

Gore kept a far lower profile than these emotional supporters and did not speak to reporters Monday. Three of his four children--Karenna, Kristin and Albert--visited the Supreme Court to watch the proceedings, while Gore listened to the audio replays that were broadcast on television.

After the hearing, attorney David Boies, who argued the case for Gore, came to the vice president's official residence with his wife. They were joined by Gore campaign chairman William Daley, adviser Warren Christopher and legal strategist Ronald Klain.

Frank Hunger, Gore's brother-in-law and close friend, also visited. Gore's running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), later came to the residence for lunch.

As dusk approached, Gore headed to the White House for a meeting with his foreign affairs adviser, Leon Fuerth, and other aides.

Some Democrats were more conciliatory than the firebrands. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, walked to the court to hear the argument with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the chairman of the committee, in a symbol of bipartisanship. It was a practice they reprised from the last Supreme Court argument in the case.

Afterward, Leahy promised to respect the court's decision. "For 30 years I've watched opinions of the Supreme Court. I don't like to predict which way they'll go," said Leahy, a former prosecutor. "I will tell you this--whether I agree or disagree with the Supreme Court, it will be the ultimate law of the land, and I will work to uphold it."

Leahy expressed some regret that the court had taken up the case. "I wish the Supreme Court was not in such a political issue," he said. "I wish that they could be unanimous if that was at all possible, because that would de-politicize a lot of it."

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who campaigned vigorously with Gore, suggested Gore should concede if the court rules against him.

"Clearly I think everybody would agree this is the moment for everybody to try to come together," Kerry said. "I think that would require the vice president to recognize that we've reached the end."

But others left no doubt they would not accept such an outcome easily.

"There was nothing said today in the courtroom that should give comfort, or should give reason, for the United States Supreme Court to overturn the Florida Supreme Court decision," Jackson-Lee said. "And so I would be, I guess, literally shocked if the Supreme Court thought it was in the interests of this nation for them to interfere in a state court issue that has been appropriately resolved by the Florida Supreme Court."